My apologies. I didn’t intend to end my narrative of this summer’s Africa trip so abruptly. It’s only that I got caught up in reading several good books lately and in writing a rather long something that has nothing at all to do with this blog.
“Where there is no imagination there is no horror.” That is a quote from Sherlock Holmes I ran across yesterday, and I’m pretty sure, according to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this makes me one of the most horrified people in the world.
But back to the point. So, obviously, I am now back in America. Living in Nebraska and - if I had written a few weeks ago, enjoying the gorgeous fall weather - but now I have to say faithfully turning up my electric blanket heater every night and bundling on the layers every morning. Back to the good life, I think they call it.
The God who blessed me so very richly in Africa has not left me empty-handed here. Within a week of my re-entry into the States, I learned that a choir of African children (the Matsiko choir: see www.matsiko.com) would be in our area and staying for nearly three weeks! Guess what country in Africa the kids were from? Uganda!! “Just so happened” they needed temporary homes for the dear little people to stay in, so it was my and my family’s privilege to house two Ugandan boys for 2 ½ weeks in September.
Also during this time, the choir scheduled with our church to come one Sunday evening and delight us with their music and dance. “Just so happened” they booked the very same night I was scheduled to share with my church about the trip. So, all the people who came to listen to the incredibly talented Matsiko choir got to listen to a half-hour’s very brief version of my time in Rwanda and Uganda first!
But more than that, because every one of those children was born in Uganda . . . and because every one of those children speaks Lugandan (although there are many different tribal dialects in Uganda), I had the privilege of sharing with the Matsiko kids the song I had written in Lugandan while I was in Uganda. I cannot tell you what a blessing it was to me to be up on that stage with a microphone and my guitar and look over into that one corner where all those dear African children were and see their faces grow absolutely silent, just like the kid’s faces had in Uganda, as I sang to them in their own heart language.
I have found more than enough to fill my time since returning from my trip, and a very large portion of it is work that I absolutely love. But my deepest passion remains with the African children, and I have seen so clearly again and again how God is beginning to pave the way for me to serve Him by serving them. I would greatly appreciate all your prayers as I continue to wait and work towards the incredible joy of the calling God has on my life. I am reminded every day how very deeply God has blessed me in the past - and how much He continues to bless me right now.
There is more to tell you about the Matsiko choir, of course. Like the night we invited them all out to the farm for a bonfire, hamburgers, horse back rides, and the best scavenger hunt of all times! . . . But you’ll have to wait till next time to hear about that.
